Argentinian wine: interview
My interview with Florencia Campicelli, a sommelier from Buenos Aires
A while ago I interviewed Florencia Campicelli, a sommelier at Anuva Wines of Buenos Aires, for Alderman Lushington. We talked about Argentinian wine, and at the end she gave me a wine-based cocktail recipe. Since then Anuva closed and the Alderman ceased publication—sic transit gloria mundi—but the interview remains (I think) interesting and relevant. So here it is.
In the English-speaking world people talk about ‘Argentinian wine’, but Argentina is the eighth largest country in the world and one of the longest (2268 miles from top to bottom), with an extraordinarily varied climate and geology, and this must have implications for winemaking—tell us something about the different wine regions and styles
As you mentioned, Argentina is a long country, and we have diverse microclimates that help us to develop different styles of wine. Going from north to south, we can pinpoint three very different regions, all continental (right next to the mountain range) and all receiving many days of sun during the year.
Northwestern region. Includes the provinces Jujuy, Salta, Catamarca and Tucuman, with the most important production- and quality-wise being Salta. The best Salta wines come from a valley called Calchaqui (which is shared with Tucuman province). Torrontés wines are definitely a must in this area, though Tannat and Cabernet Sauvignon are also ones to look out for. This is a very hot and dry area, with the highest vineyards in the world, which makes for a big difference of temperature between the day and night—it cools down a lot and that helps slow down the ripening process, so the grapes grow to have more complexity.
Cuyo or western region. La Rioja, San Juan and Mendoza are the three provinces here. Obviously, Mendoza stands out with its various microclimates, though it’s worth mentioning that San Juan has a valley called Pedernal that makes very high-quality wines; the Syrah, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot from this area are highly regarded. This is mainly a hot weather area with alluvial soil, good for deep styles of red wine.
Southern region or north Patagonia. Here the main areas are Neuquen, Rio Negro and the south of La Pampa. Over there we have the coolest weather for winemaking in Argentina, and Pinot Noir, Merlot and most of the whites are at their best. Mainly cool weather wines.
Note that after 1934, the Argentine government passed a law to concentrate grapevine production near the Andes mountain range, and this wasn’t lifted until the last decade of the twentieth century. From that time on, they started to grow grapevines in the Entre Rios, Buenos Aires and Santa Fe provinces. So there are new winemaking areas and new styles of wine emerging. There is a promising area in Buenos Aires called Medanos (near the seaside), where experimental vineyards are already starting to make high-quality vintages.
Why is Mendoza so dominant?
Sixty per cent of Argentinian wine comes from Mendoza. A bunch of factors come into play when you try to explain this. It has amazing natural conditions for winemaking, with its different microclimates at different altitudes, its types of soil and its overall temperatures. Water is readily available and—keeping in mind that most of our vineyards are basically in the middle of deserts—that is no small matter. Alongside these natural advantages, it is an area of high economic and social development and it benefits from favourable government policies.
The best Malbec comes from this province. Three names to remember when looking for wine from Mendoza are: Maipu (for easy drinking and fruit-driven styles of wine), Lujan de Cuyo (for more mineral and complex styles, especially when they come from the Perdriel region, a small city in that area) and Valle de Uco (for flowery, fruity and delicate styles, the best come from the Tupungato, Gualtallary and Vista Flores areas). Look for all these names on the label.
Tell us about the special relationship between Malbec and Argentina
I’ll start by telling you a bit about the story of Malbec from its beginnings, if I may put it that way. Malbec wasn’t the original name for the grape, it was known as Cot or Cot Noir, but because of the way the grapes were used in Cahors it was nicknamed Malbec, after the French words mal (bad) and bec (beak), meaning ‘bad mouth’ or ‘bad tasting’ in slang! This was because the grape that came from those vineyards was very deep in colour (it was widely used for blending to add colour and acidity in wines from neighbouring Bordeaux) and would smell and taste like raisins and garlic; French people didn’t like it, and who could blame them?1
Luckily for us, it arrived here in the mid-1800s thanks to a French agronomist called Michel Aime Pouget, who was hired by our soon-to-be president, Domingo F Sarmiento. Michel had already started a greenhouse of French vines in Santiago by that time and the main goal of this was to introduce high-quality vines to Argentina—before then we only had vines to make wine for church mass. And so it was that Malbec found its place in this very sunny and dry climate with (mostly) alluvial soil to become a full-bodied yet very fruity wine with lots of different aromas—red fruits and also flowers such as violets—that can be drunk young or after aging in the cellar.
In the UK, Argentinian Malbec has become a supermarket and pub staple, with many reliably enjoyable, good value wines being sold. However, there’s a lot more to Argentinian wine than value and reliability. Tell us a bit about what’s available and how you choose what to stock. What should our readers look out for?
Look out for boutique wines would be my recommendation. These are wines from limited production wineries, most of them are family owned and they put a lot of time and effort into making a high-quality, great value product! This is the type of winery we work with. Las Perdices started really small and worked their way up to the medium-size winery they are now—they were one of the first partners we had. We now also work with El Porvenir de Cafayate, a winery from Salta with amazing Torrontés. Then there is the MeVi boutique winery (which has great Tuscan-style wines, yet made from 100% Argentine Malbec), Familia Blanco (with mind-blowing and award-winning Bonarda) and CarinaE (French-style wines, since the owners are from France with a new found love for Malbec)—all from Mendoza. The newest addition is Patritti (with incredible Pinot Noir, Merlot and Chardonnay) from Neuquen, in northern Patagonia.
When looking for wine for cellaring it is always good to go for full-bodied wines that are very aromatic yet slightly strong in the ‘gripping’ sensation they leave in the mouth; that way we know that they have enough tannins to age nicely. (Tannins are responsible for that dry feeling we get in the mouth when drinking red wine.) I’d recommend getting at least three bottles (or two if you’ve already tasted it) when laying wine down to mature: one to drink now and see if it has aging potential, and the other two for cellaring itself. One will work as a tester (usually opened halfway through the time you’d want to age the wine), and the other one can be left for the final test, the opening and drinking!
Malbec wines are the most successful ones in Argentina, especially for the international market, but many other wines are made. What about the other wines, in particular Bonarda and Torrontés?
Bonarda is the new up-and-coming red. Look out for it in the future. Experts like Alberto Antonini (the famous travelling Italian winemaker) say it’ll be the next big red wine from here. It’s only grown here in Argentina and is an extremely easy drinking style of wine. Lots of red fruit aromas plus a black pepper aftertaste, and incredibly easy to pair with simple food (pasta, pizza, cold cuts and cheeses). I recommend one from Mendoza for the full expression of the grape.
Torrontés is amazingly unique. Not only is it our flagship white wine, it’s the only native grape that we have to make high-quality wines. Definitely one to look out for when pairing with hot and spicy food, since it’s very aromatic (it is excellent with aromatic spices like ginger) and has an amazing lively acidity to it that will cut right through the heat and flavors and allow you to keep on eating. The best come from Cafayate or the Valles Calchaquies area in general, which is in the province of Salta.
Argentinian and Chilean wines are well known internationally, but wine is also made elsewhere in South and Central America, e.g. in Brazil and Uruguay. Is any of it good and do you think it’ll become better known?
Uruguay has some great Tannat (actually that’s their flagship wine) and Brazil has some good sparkling wines. They both have very particular weather, one is very humid (Uruguay) and the other tropical (Brazil), so that makes the winemaking process very different. My guess is that they’ll get much better with time, which is more or less what happened with Chile and Argentina. You have to learn to play to your strengths!
You serve food at your wine tastings. Is this because wine is usually drunk with food in Argentina? What should we eat with Argentinian wine?
Here in Argentina we do usually have a drink and eat at the same time, and I personally think that the best thing to eat when drinking is a picada, an assortment of cold cuts, cheeses, sauces and bread. Depending on the types of things you have to hand to chop and get onto a plate to share, you can pair it with red, white or even a rosé. Our favourite choices are Malbec, Bonarda, Torrontés or Malbec rosé to pair with this.
How is wine served in Argentina? What glasses, serving temperatures, etc would you recommend for the different types and styles?
Our wines are usually high in alcohol because we have a lot of sun in all of our wine regions, so the best thing is to serve the red wines slightly chilled. Depending on how complex and old the wine is, it can be served from 14 to 17°C. Younger, lighter and fruitier styles should be served cooler than more complex, full-bodied and aged wines.
White wines can be served at fridge temperature, around 10°C, and sparkling is usually enjoyed best when cold, around 7°C.
When it comes to glassware, I could recommend one style per wine, but the truth is that most of us don’t have that much space (or perhaps the budget) to get so many different ones. The large glasses are good for letting the aromas of the wine develop, but whatever you get, just keep in mind that the glass should be good quality and not too thick, and when serving white, serve to less than the line of the ‘equator’, so it doesn’t become warm before you finish.
You seem to enjoy wine cocktails, do you have a recipe for us?
Yes: the Cynblanc Julep. It’s a sweet and sour drink made with Cynar, now super-trendy in Buenos Aires. Cynar is a herbal bitters with artichokes as the base ingredient. [Editor’s note: Cynar is an Italian bitters and is now made by Campari; it can be used instead of Campari in the Negroni.] We would choose Punta Carmelo Sauvignon Blanc 2013 as the wine component in this one—a crisp and fresh white wine. Let’s see what else we will need for this one…
a highball glass (or any large and tall one)
1½ oz Cynar
2 oz Punta Carmelo Sauvignon Blanc (or similar wine)
four large basil leaves
½ oz basic syrup
1 oz grapefruit juice
crushed ice
First, put the basil leaves at the bottom of the glass along with the syrup and a few drops of juice, then crush and mix with a mortar. Then place the crushed ice in the glass (slightly more than half of the glass capacity) and start pouring in the following order: Cynar, Sauvignon Blanc and juice. You can decorate with peppermint leaves and half a slice of grapefruit for garnish.
What would you say to our readers about the best way to drink wine?
The best way to drink wine is to enjoy it! It’s better in company from my perspective, although I know people who have a glass of wine and use it to take some time to reflect about the day. It’s up to the reader how they enjoy that bottle or glass, the point of it is to have a nice time.
Paul Fishman (Skelsmergh, April 2026)
I’m not sure this is quite fair to e.g. the famous black wine of Cahors. Malbec is also traditionally used as a blending grape in Bordeaux.